Trips in Time
Stephanie Gruner Launches Our Travel Column With a Look at the Luxury Trains Designed to Take You Back
April 29, 2005
Luxury travel must be back in style: The carriages on elegant vintage trains are filling up again.
After all, these so-called nostalgia trains are the height of old-fashioned elegance. Tuxedoed pianists play jazz in the bar car. Ancient steam locomotives pull antique carriages whose paneling is mahogany, light fixtures are brass and chairs are always overstuffed. This is the world of black-and-white film (remember Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes") and British mystery novels. Bringing the past back to life is what these trains are all about.
Dinner often stretches over five courses, accompanied by fine wines served in crystal glasses. "People dressed up," recalls German passenger Siegfried Kratzer , 64, who with his wife, Helga, traveled from Jaipur through the Great Indian Desert in November on the Palace on Wheels, a train that sells itself as a royal conveyance of the sort the maharajahs once took, complete with personal butlers in turbans.
Of course, not all journeys live up to their romantic promise. Recently, my husband and I traveled on the Silk Road Express, an overnight train that runs between Tbilisi, Georgia and Baku, Azerbaijan. While far from expecting the Orient Express, we had hoped for some of the luxury suggested by its Web site, or at the very least, a "delightful" meal in its "cozy" dining car. Instead, we were greeted by men with hard stares who acted more like border police than hosts on a luxury train. Coach quarters consisted of a couple of benches with linens. The business compartments, despite the blue and gold tapestry-covered walls, were far from luxurious. Dinner included plain spaghetti, chewy chicken and warm white wine. Drinking water? They were out.
What does it take to get a real luxury-train experience? Through interviews with passengers, train enthusiasts and owners, we sought advice on how to book the right train, and tried to answer whether the best of these lavish and nostalgic journeys -- often billed as trips of a lifetime -- usually do live up to expectations.
There are hundreds of nostalgia trains to choose from, some run by large tour operators but many more operated by individual entrepreneurs and enthusiasts. Quite a few of these vintage trains are charming, yet only a handful qualify as truly luxurious.
Getting aboard the right train requires some planning. It's important to book early, especially for travel in the high season. The better-known trains have enjoyed a recent surge of interest and some are selling out months in advance. While it's possible to book directly through individual train Web sites, for this kind of trip travel agents can make life simpler, by helping sort through the many options and arranging special charters when trains appear booked. They also offer packages that can include hotels, transfers and other excursions, and the train fares are often the same as those offered online. (The Netherlands-based travel agency Incento is dedicated to train travel and represents many luxury vintage trains; tel: 31-35-69-55-111). Good questions to ask a travel agent include whether sleeping cabins have en suites with showers, whether black tie is required for dinner and whether the chef can accommodate diet restrictions.
The emergence of nostalgia trains began in the late 1970s. James Sherwood, an American entrepreneur, ignited the revival. In 1977 he bought two 1920s original Orient Express carriages at a Sotheby's auction in Monte Carlo for $20,000, or about �15,000, each. The original Orient Express service had stopped running that year. Mr. Sherwood, a longtime fan of trains who had made his money in the marine container business, spent the next five years (and some ￡11 million, or �16.2 million) finding and restoring to original condition about 35 vintage sleepers, Pullmans and restaurant cars. In 1982, a new Orient Express made its maiden run from London to Venice. Today, his company Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. owns four such trains, including one in Asia, two in Britain and the renamed Venice Simplon-Orient-Express.
Life on board these trains is supposed to be as it once was. It's this step back in time that their owners play up most. The Majestic Imperator, which runs a dinner-and-day-charter service from Vienna to destinations such as Prague and Salzburg, is modeled on the 19th-century Imperial Habsburg train. Rovos Rail in South Africa uses Edwardian decor to capture the ambience of an early 20th-century English country club. "The romance attracts attention," says the train's creator, 59-year-old Rohan Vos. "I suppose people hanker for the past."
Whether such trains are historically accurate or simply fantasies is debatable. They are certainly exclusive. The single fare for one night on the Orient-Express from Paris to Venice is ￡1,130. Two nights on the Rovos Rail from Cape Town to Pretoria runs 14,600 South African rand, or about �1,860. The number of passengers is limited as well. Unlike some cruise ships with room for thousands, many of these trains carry fewer than 100 passengers. The Royal Scotsman, a well-known nostalgia train in Scotland, carries no more than 36 guests on its trips.
With so few passengers, service can be very attentive. "It's like being back a century ago when people took time to enjoy life and service was practically unlimited in quality and quantity," says Fran?ois Morin, a 72-year-old Parisian who traveled a few years back with his wife, Annie, from Paris to Venice aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train.
After a boom in the late 1990s, followed by a drop in business after Sept. 11, travel on such trains in Asia, Europe, North America and South Africa has picked up again. The Royal Scotsman is forecasting a 40% increase in revenue this year. Bookings on the four vintage trains owned by Orient-Express Hotels increased by 25% in 2004. The group has added extra itineraries this year to meet demand.
Canadians Fred and Carol Abbott, both in their early 70s, will take the Orient Express from London to Venice this May. The tickets for the two-day trip (￡1,350 each) came as a Christmas gift from their children, packed in an antique suitcase, together with guidebooks, a deck of cards, and a copy of Agatha Christie's classic mystery "Murder on the Orient Express." Perhaps it's the elegant blue-and-gold carriages, or simply the name, but for many people it's hard not to feel nostalgic.
"You always see the Orient Express in movies and novels and everyone talks about doing it," says Mr. Abbott. "Well, we're doing it."
So what is it about these trains that capture the imagination, convincing passengers to pay so much for a few days' slow bumpy ride?
For some, it's the pageantry of the voyage. Harald Hafner, a 45-year-old managing director of a Viennese technology company, took 120 employees to Budapest and back in a single day on the Majestic Imperator, a trip that cost about �350 per person. (It's primarily a day train, though sleeper cars can be attached.) He and his employees were greeted at the train with champagne and shepherded along an actual red carpet. The train's staff, in blue uniforms, stood at attention. A brass band played beside the train. "We all still talk about it," Mr. Hafner says.
Henk Bouwman, a 68-year-old former editor of a Dutch travel magazine, has specialized in writing about international trains. He says it's no one thing that makes these trips special -- it's all the little things. He illustrates by describing a five-day trip on the Royal Scotsman from Edinburgh into the Scottish Highlands: A historian on board told Scottish tales. A harpsichord player entertained at night. When they visited the Chivas Regal distillery in northeast Scotland, a bagpipe player greeted them at the station. At night, the train stopped, to ensure everyone got a good sleep. All these details add up. The cost for such a trip runs about ￡3,450. "It's for people who like to be pampered; not in the way of Disney World, but in a very civilized way," Mr. Bouwman says. "It's a much higher standard."
Attention to detail often extends to the sleeping quarters. Liezl Byliefeldt, 34, of Johannesburg, along with her husband, Jean, 35, rode the Rovos a few years back, taking advantage of a two-for-one sale. She says their air-conditioned sleeping quarters were roomy enough to include a double bed, a table and two chairs and an en suite with a shower. "I've seen bigger hotel rooms, but in terms of luxury the Rovos Rail was certainly on par," she says.
Sleeping cabins aren't usually so large. After all, there's only so much space on old trains, and rooms on even the most luxurious may be smallish, with beds that fold up during the day or double as couches.
Little time is spent in these quarters. Excursions are offered on some trains. Or else, guests pass most of the ride enjoying extravagant meals, meeting other travelers, reading, or daydreaming as valleys and rivers roll by. "You really dine for hours," says Ms. Byliefeldt, "and then have a rest or a read in the sightseeing car, and then you dress up for the next meal."
Of course, what makes vintage train travel possible is, well, the vintage trains. Behind each luxury-train service there is a story and, in many cases, one of an extraordinary restoration effort by a train enthusiast.
Gottfried Rieck, the 57-year-old creator of the Majestic Imperator, is the very image of a train conductor, with a salt-and-pepper beard and twinkling eyes. Born in Vienna, he dropped out of high school to be a railroad man like his father, grandfather and two generations of men before them. In 1991, after 25 years with the Austrian Federal Railways, he bought a carriage built in 1905 and restored it using century-old plans from the train of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I and the Empress Elizabeth. Mr. Rieck spent about �750,000 (thanks to his wealthy and supportive wife) restoring a single carriage. Craftsmen made tapestries for the windows, woodcarvings to hang over them, and velvet-covered chairs. He bought a few original Habsburg treasures at auctions, including a mirror from the salon carriage of the Empress Elizabeth. To date, he's bought eleven carriages and restored six of them, spending another �750,000 or so on each. (They are attached to locomotives, sometimes steam, which he rents.)
Even if he's made only modest profit, Mr. Rieck says the investment has been worth it. In 1998, the youngest direct descendant of the Habsburg family (the eight-month-old Marie Christine Habsburg-Lothringen) christened the train by touching the bottle of champagne before it broke across the carriage wheel. Mr. Rieck's aim is to make elegant train travel available to everyone. "One hundred years ago, the rich owned private train carriages and only the kings and emperors owned complete trains," he says. "It was my idea to bring this time to the present."
Ultimately, for many luxury train travelers, it's not about the quality of the champagne, the food, or the size of the sleeping cars. The joy is in stepping back to a time when travel was more than about getting there. It's the sway of the train car, the rattle of the undercarriage, the lost time spent staring out the window at a world passing by. Perhaps that's why these trips appeal to older passengers, for whom all this is more nostalgia than fantasy. Peter Szymkowiak, a Dutchman who traveled last year on the Royal Scotsman with his wife, Antonie, recalls the reaction of his 84-year-old mother, who accompanied them on the trip. "It was very special," he says of their departure, with the red carpet, and a piper playing and that first glimpse of the vintage train. "My mother started to cry a little bit because she was enjoying it and it was emotional."
Spanish Treasures
Barcelona started its "Year of Gastronomy" in March, with a series of events that includes cooking competitions, food fairs and festivals. One early event featured a dozen local artists who had turned their artistic visions into sweets, including a chocolate tree, a set of music boxes and an edition of Don Quixote. The exhibit was a treat -- literally. Visitors enjoyed the art so much that by the end it looked like leftovers. Coming in June: treasure hunts involving food and a festival at which 1,000 bottles of cava (sparkling wine) will be uncorked simultaneously (
www.barcelonaturisme.com).
怀旧列车的奢华之旅
享受奢侈旅行的风潮肯定又卷土重来了，因为豪华列车重新了出现宾客盈门、觥筹交错的繁盛景象。
不管怎样，这些所谓的“怀旧列车”代表著旧式奢华的极至水平。在列车的酒吧车厢中，身穿燕尾服的钢琴师轻轻弹奏著爵士乐曲；老式的蒸气机车牵引著古色古香的车厢徐徐前行；车厢内的照明灯具都是用黄铜制成；所有的椅子都格外地松软舒适。还记得希区柯克(Hitchcock)的《贵妇失踪案》(The Lady Vanishes)吗？这完全就是一部黑白电影和英国悬疑小说所展现的情形。把人们带回到过去正是这些怀旧列车的目的所在。
在怀旧列车上，一顿正餐往往要上5道菜，佐餐的是盛在水晶杯中上好的佳酿。现年64岁的德国乘客西格弗里德?克拉策(Siegfried Kratzer)回忆道：“人们都盛装出席这些晚宴。”他和妻子黑尔佳(Helga)去年11月份从印度斋浦尔乘坐“Palace on Wheels”号列车穿越萨尔沙漠，这辆列车自称为皇室御用，有不少王公贵族曾经乘坐过，车上配有头戴穆斯林包头巾的男仆为乘客服务，而这也成了它的一大卖点。
当然，并不是所有的怀旧列车都能兑现其浪漫之旅的承诺。最近我和丈夫乘坐“丝绸之路快车”(Silk Road Express)进行了一次旅行，这趟列车在格鲁吉亚的第比利斯和阿塞拜疆的巴库之间运行。虽然我们并不奢望它能比得上“东方快车”(Orient Express)，但我们对它网站上介绍的一些豪华设施还是有所期盼，至少我们希望能在它“舒适”的餐车内享受一顿“美食”。然而，这趟列车迎接我们的首先是一些表情严肃的乘务员，他们看上去更像是边防警察，而不是豪华列车的主人。经济车厢内是一排排覆盖著亚麻布的长椅。而在商务包间，尽管墙上挂著蓝色和金色的挂毯，但也远远谈不上豪华。晚餐是一般的意大利面条、难嚼的鸡肉和温热的白葡萄酒。饮用水吗？用完了。
怎样才能享受到一次真正的豪华列车之旅呢？我们采访了一些乘客、列车旅行爱好者以及列车经营者，听取他们的建议，以弄清其中最好的豪华怀旧列车是否名副其实。
如今可供选乘的怀旧列车有数百辆之多，其中部分是由旅游公司负责经营，不过更多的怀旧列车还是由个人业者或爱好者经营著。吸引人的怀旧列车有不少，而真正称得上豪华的也只有屈指可数的几辆。
为了获得一次满意的怀旧之旅，你必须做好计划。提前预定非常重要，特别是在旅游旺季的时候。近来一些有名的怀旧列车的乘客数量大增，有时候车票提前几个月就被销售一空了。虽然可以从怀旧列车各自的网站上直接订票，但对于此类旅行，通过旅行社安排行程能让你省掉不少的麻烦，旅行社能根据你的各种要求挑选合适的列车，并且在车票售罄的时候帮你安排特别的包车旅行。他们还能提供一整套旅行安排，包括酒店、转车和其他观光活动。他们的火车票售价也常常和网上的票价一致。最好向旅行社问清楚一些问题，包括卧铺车厢是否有带淋浴的套间、晚餐时是否要著正装、餐厅厨师是否能满足某些特殊的饮食要求。
怀旧列车最早出现在20世纪70年代，是一位美国企业家詹姆斯?舍伍德(James Sherwood)率现引发了这股浪潮。1977年，他以每辆20,000美元的价格在苏富比拍卖行(Sotheby)买下了两辆20年代最早的东方快车。这两辆列车在当年已经停止运营。舍伍德是个火车迷，靠海运赚了不少钱。在接下来的5年时间内，他花费了1,100万英镑（合1,620万欧元）恢复了35节卧铺车厢以及餐车的原貌。1982年，一辆新的“东方快车”开始了它从伦敦至威尼斯的首次运行。如今，舍伍德的Orient-Express Hotels Ltd.共拥有四辆这样的列车，一辆在亚洲、两辆在英国以及重新命名为Venice Simplon-Orient-Express的列车。
乘坐这样的火车应该让人有一种置身过去的感觉，这也是怀旧列车经营者们著力宣传的一个重点。
这些列车是否正确地再现了历史、抑或只是一种幻想都值得商榷。当然它们都十分奢华。乘坐东方快车从巴黎到威尼斯一晚的单程票价是1,130英镑；乘坐Rovos Rail从开普敦到比勒陀利亚两个晚上的费用是14,600南非兰特，合1,860欧元。乘客的数量也受到严格限制。不像一些游船能够容纳上千名乘客，许多怀旧列车的乘客数量还不到100人。苏格兰著名的怀旧列车Royal Scotsman的乘客数量甚至不超过36人。
既然乘客这么少，服务自然是相当周到的。现年72岁的巴黎人弗朗索瓦?莫兰(Francois Morin)几年前和妻子安妮(Annie)一道搭乘Venice Simplon-Orient-Express列车从巴黎到威尼斯，他说：“那感觉就像是回到了一个世纪前，和那时的人一样悠闲地享受生活，而接受到的服务更是无微不至。”
在经历了90年代末期的兴盛之后，911恐怖袭击事件让豪华列车旅行一度陷入低谷，不过，如今在亚洲、欧洲、北美和南非，乘坐豪华列车旅行又重新流行起来。The Royal Scotsman预计今年收入将增长40%。2004年Orient-Express Hotels旗下四趟怀旧列车的预订量增加了25%，公司今年已经加开了新的线路以满足乘客的需求。
加拿大人弗雷德?阿博特(Fred Abbott)和卡罗尔?阿博特(Carol Abbott)今年都70岁出头了，他们将于5月份乘坐东方快车从伦敦到威尼斯去，这为期两天的列车之旅的票价是每人1,350英镑，孩子们将这两张票装在一个古色古香的盒子里送给他们作为圣诞节礼物，另外还有旅游指南、明信片以及阿加莎?克里斯蒂(Agatha Christie)的经典侦探小说《东方快车上的谋杀案》(Murder on the Orient Express)。也许是因为它典雅的车厢、也许仅仅是因为它的名字，多数乘客在这样的列车上都免不了要萌生怀旧的情绪。
阿博特说，“人们总是在电影和小说里提到东方快车，好了，我们现在就在乘上这趟列车了。”
那么，这些怀旧列车是如何抓住人们的想像、让他们心甘情愿花上一大笔钱在慢慢悠悠的列车里耗上几天呢？
对于一些人来说，其意义就在于享受此类旅行的奢华。45岁的哈拉尔?哈夫纳(Harald Hafner)是维也纳一家科技公司的董事总经理，他带领120名员工乘坐Majestic Imperator列车去往布达佩斯，并在一天内返回，每人的票价是350欧元。（这趟列车主要是在白天开行，但也附有卧铺车厢。）这趟列车以香槟和红地毯来欢迎他们的到来，列车乘务员身著蓝色制服，毕恭毕敬地站在一旁，列车旁还有一只铜管乐队为他们演奏乐曲。哈夫纳说：“我们至今仍对此津津乐道。”
68岁的汉克?鲍曼(Henk Bouwman)曾是荷兰一家旅游杂志的编辑，他专门撰写有关国际列车的文章。他说，让这些怀旧列车之旅与众不同的并不是一件两件事情，它们的特殊体现在所有细节之处。他以从爱丁堡到苏格兰高地的Royal Scotsman列车为例，在它的5天旅途中，期间车上有历史学家讲述苏格兰的历史故事；晚上还有乐师演奏大键琴；当乘客们参观苏格兰北部的Chivas Regal酿酒厂时，又有乐师吹奏风笛在火车站迎接他们。入夜，火车便会停下来，让每个人都能美美睡上一觉。所有这些细节加起来就构成了此次非同寻常的旅程。而这样的旅程的费用是
3,450英镑。鲍曼称：“它适合那些希望得到悉心呵护的游客。它对待游客的方式不同于迪斯尼乐园，其标准要高出许多，相当地高雅。”
人们往往还将关注的目光投向卧铺车厢。约翰内斯堡的丽泽?拜利费尔德(Liezl Byliefeldt)和她的丈夫让(Jean)几年前利用买一送一的机会乘坐了一次Rovos。她说，他们的空调卧铺包厢非常宽敞，足以放下一张双人床、一张桌子、两把椅子以及一间浴室。她说：“我见过更大的酒店房间，但从豪华程度上看，Rovos Rail完全够得上档次。”
不过，卧铺车厢通常都不太大。毕竟老式列车的空间有限，即便是最豪华的包厢空间也会显得局促，白天的时候，床铺会被折叠起来或是当作沙发使用。
人们呆在卧铺包厢里的时间不不多。一些列车上提供游览活动，另外乘客们还会花费大量的时间来品尝美食、与其他乘客聊天、读书或是随著山水在自己眼前掠过而做一番遐想。拜利费尔德说：“你真的会花上几个小时的时间来品尝美食，然后休息休息，在观景车厢内读读书，再梳洗打扮一番，出席下一轮盛宴。”
当然，让怀旧之旅成为可能的还是怀旧列车本身。在豪华列车的每一项服务后面都会有一段故事，而在很多时候，它会是一个火车爱好者为让这些怀旧列车重现昔日光彩而付出巨大努力的故事。
对于多数豪华列车之旅的乘客而言，重要的并不是香槟和食物的质量、也不是卧铺包间的大小。他们享受的是时光倒流的感觉，重新体验到达目的地并非旅游的全部这样一种滋味。对于他们而言，感觉车厢的晃动、听到车架发出的卡嗒声、呆呆地望著窗外景致而任凭时间流逝都是一种享受。这也许就是为什么此类旅行能够吸引老年乘客的原因吧，他们更多的是怀旧而不是追求新奇。荷兰人彼得?希姆科维亚克(Peter Szymkowiak)去年和妻子安东妮(Antonie)以及他84岁的老母亲一起乘坐了Royal Scotsman旅行，当他谈到第一眼看到这辆列车、谈到红地毯、风琴手演奏时，他说道：“它非常特别，我妈妈忍不住掉下了眼泪，因为她太喜欢这趟列车了，它让人激动不已。”
